There's more than meets the eye
by Sophia Anya Lee
Summary: Post BotL. Annabeth was jealous of Rachel. Rachel thought Annabeth was just another know-it-all. But when they are forced to stay together, will they overcome their differences and try to understand each other? Percabeth!
1. Chapter 1

_Hello PJO fandom! First time I'm writing a PJO fic, written in thirty minutes with no revision because I currently attempting to finish studying for a science exam! Hope you enjoy!_

**There's more than meets the eye**

**By Nymph of the Night**

**Chapter One – The beginning of the nightmare**

This was driving her absolutely crazy.

Annabeth watched as her little brother stumbled clumsily past her, laughing loudly as he ran round the shop and waved in and out of aisles and her father chased him with a manic grin. If only his solemn colleagues could see him now, she reflected irately.

Bobby ran behind her and grabbed her blonde ponytail.

"Bethy, play!" he demanded, drooling slightly in excitement; yanking her hair with unnecessary force as though nothing would please him better than pulling her hair off her skull.

"Bobby!" she swatted his hand with hysterical force and the young boy withdrew his hand as if stung, looking mournful. Annabeth cursed mutely as tears welled up in his big caramel eyes and he stumbled back to her father, bawling.

"Annabeth beat me," he complained, sniffling as his father gathered him up in a delicate cuddle and fondled his hair gently. "Annabeth don't like to play!"

"Now, Bobby, I'm sure Annabeth didn't mean to," he said smoothly and Bobby looked slightly mollified as she pushed away from his father's embrace and sauntered off to join his mother.

Frederick Chase turned and looked down at Annabeth, who was studying the floor as though intent to attain a doctorate on it's molecular composition, and put his hand on her shoulder. An understanding touch.

"Annabeth, could you not sulk for one moment please?" he pleaded, having eyed the surroundings for inconspicuous eavesdroppers before addressing his irritated daughter. "I know that you detest shopping with us, but, maybe, we could just, you know, try-"

"I am trying, Dad," Annabeth insisted, looking back into his abruptly sombre eyes. "It's just-"

"Fred! A little help!" her stepmother's voice sounded agitated as she attempted to reach a tin of cat food that was at least two heads too high for her to reach.

Professor Chase shot Annabeth apologetic glance as he dashed off to aid his complaining wife with the "procurement of necessary grocery articles" and "helping the vertically challenged" as she put it, Annabeth snorted, making herself unobtrusive amongst the noisy crowd of shoppers.

She couldn't believe she had actually been persuaded to come shopping with them. It was a usual routine for her to remain in her room when she was at home, reading through old design guides and browsing Daedalus' laptop, a priceless asset to keep boredom at bay. Social interaction with her family were habitually avoided other than lunch and dinner, which her father insisted she come down for, even though she would prefer a tray to be sent up to her. And shopping with them? Annabeth couldn't even stomach the whole need for shopping, let alone it being done with people she didn't get along with.

She pushed her way past through a group of babbling blondes and headed towards the book section, which was visibly less crowded than the rest of the departmental store. A lone figure lingered her and there, flipping through pages of books.

Peace and quiet. Just what I need, she mused as she quickened her pace towards the stacks of books. She picked up one, and then, put it away instantly. The dyslexia made it impossible to read.

She cursed again. Here she was, stuck in a department store for at least two hours more, until her stepmother completed her mandatory monthly shopping session with a pile of books she couldn't read. Her luck could hardly get worse, she thought.

As usual, she didn't have a clue as to how wrong she was.

She stepped back, not really paying attention to where she was going and bumped into something. Human-like.

She spun on her heel.

And there she was, her red-headed nightmare.

**To be continued …**

_See the purple button? Press it and drop a line, if you reached this far. It'll help me get through my exams! Sorry about any errors!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks for the reviews! Chapter two is here for you!_

**There's more than meets the eye**

**By Nymph of the Night**

**Chapter Two – The nightmare is invited home**

"You?!" Annabeth Chase gasped aloud, drawing scorching glares from the nearby bookworms who had been buried deep in the bowels of the literary world.

"Nice to meet you too," Rachel Elizabeth Dare acquiesced mildly, not in the least taken aback by the blonde's violent reception as she twirled a string of frizzy red hair around her paint-encrusted finger and scanned the towering shelf of books before her.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" Annabeth sputtered, unable to disguise her shock at finding the 'mortal' in the same departmental store as her.

"Oh, didn't I tell you?" Rachel exclaimed with an expression of feigned surprise. "Forgive me, it must have escaped me … I've been employed as the salesperson here!"

"What?" Annabeth asked, looking utterly baffled.

Rachel rolled her eyes exasperatedly as she pushed past Annabeth and began pulling out books from the shelf, riffling through the pages fervently. "I'm getting art supplies and books and stuff. Duh. What did you except?"

Annabeth stared, dumbfounded, as Rachel continued to rummage through the shelves, now looking harassed and muttering about stupid stores not supplying 'fricso' books, not that Annabeth had ever heard of 'fricso' books in the first place.

"So," Rachel began conversationally, still searching for the enigmatic 'fricso' books. "What's up with you and Percy?"

Annabeth felt her blood boil to dangerous temperatures at Rachel's blatant reference to Percy. _Her Percy! That stupid mortal better learn to address him properly! And what was with the 'you and Percy' thing? _

"Excuse me, how dare-" she exploded furiously, but Rachel cut her off with an impatient wave of her hand.

"I'm Rachel Elizabeth Dare, that's how," she smirked briefly at Annabeth, before returning to her hunt for the book again. "I simply asked you what happened since the battle at Camp."

"Oh," Annabeth softened her harsh tone a bit, though she continued to glare sullenly at Rachel's turned back. "It's okay, I guess-"

"Where's Percy?"

_Percy this, Percy that, _Annabeth thought suspiciously. _What does she want with Percy?_

"With his mom," she replied shortly and Rachel looked up, an eyebrow cocked.

"What?" Annabeth demanded, putting her arms onto her waist as Rachel rolled her eyes for the second time and looked back down again. "I'm talking to-"

"Annabeth!" a voice echoed down the aisle and Annabeth winced and breathed in sharply, whirling around.

"Dad," she greeted half-heartedly, as Professor Chase sighed melodramatically and pulled Annabeth into a bear-hug which she returned reluctantly, cringing and felling sure that half her ribs must've cracked. Rachel pushed aside the book discretely and watched Annabeth turn red enough to match the shade of her hair. An amused smile flitted across her face, and Annabeth assiduously noted a faintest trace of envy behind the leer.

"And this must be your friend!" he beamed at Rachel, holding out his hand expectantly. "And you are-"

"Rachel Elizabeth … uh, yeah … just that," she returned, forcing a smile as she shook hands with the Professor and watched Annabeth mime puking into an invisible bowl from behind him.

"From camp, I assume," he nodded jovially, as he smiled at her. "May I enquire as to which cabin you are from?"

"Uh, actually, I'm … mortal," Rachel corrected meekly, cocking her head to one side to catch a glimpse of Annabeth who was now looking anywhere but at the two of them as though the conversation was mortally embarrassing.

"Indeed," he looked, puzzled for a moment, and turned to Annabeth, who confirmed Rachel's statement with a terse nod.

"Well, that's great!" he said happily, pulling Rachel forward and shepherding the two girls towards the counter where a surly cashier regarded them with a glower. He shoved the articles at him carelessly and looked back at Annabeth. "Lucky you met a friend, huh?"

Annabeth looked like she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her. "Yeah! Great!" she said in an enthusiastic voice that sounding nothing but artificial to Rachel's ears. "Rachel's brilliant!"

Rachel snorted in disbelief. _Yeah, I'll be great to Annabeth when Tyson dates me, _she thought cynically, deciding that Annabeth definitely needed to work on her acting skills.

Professor Chase, apparently, did not seemed to have noticed the false enthusiasm in his daughter's voice; at any rate, this was proved as he walked the two girls to his old sedan. Dumping the grocery onto the back seat, where Mrs. Chase sat mollycoddling her young son, he turned to Rachel with a cheerful, "Well, since you and Annabeth get along so well, why don't you join as at the Chase residence for a few days?"

**To be continued …**

_See the pwetty purple button? Pwetty purple button wants you to press it! Review, people!_


End file.
